Ram guide for impact forging machines



March 1, 1955 H. B. ALBERS ETAL 2,703,024

RAM GUIDE FOR IMPACT- FORGING MACHINES Filed Aug. 22, 1952 s shets-sneet INVENTORS HEINRICH B. ALBERS I BY AND HOWARD TERHUNE ATTORNEY March 1. 1955 ALBERS ETAL 2,703,024

RAM GUIDE FOR IMPACT FORGING MACHINES Filed Aug. 22, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet; 2

INVENTORS HEINRICH B. ALBERS AND HOWARD TERHUNE ATTORNEY March 1, 1955 HJB. ALBERS ETAL 2,703,024

RAM GUIDE FOR IMPACT FORGING MACHINES Filed Aug 22, 1952 :s SheetS- Sheet 3 INVENTORS HEINRICH B.ALBER$ AND HOWARD TERHUNE United States Patent RAM GUIDE FOR IMPACT FORGIN G MACHINES Heinrich B. Albers, Malverne, N. Y., and Howard Terhune, Alliance, Ohio, assignors to Hydropress Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 22, 1952, Serial No. 305,814

Claims. (CI. 78-37) This invention relates to impact forging machines, and more particularly to means for guiding the rams in such machines. In order to produce matched forgings, it is necessary for the rams or hammers to be securely guided at all times throughout the period during which the forging machine is operated. This creates a problem because at the beginning of its operation room temperature prevails, but as the machine continues its forging operations, the dies and rams become heated. Temperatures as high as 365 degrees F. have been recorded at the end of a days run.

In conventional forging machines, the distance between ram guides for a 2000-lb. ram is 20", for a 50,000-lb. ram 50", and for a 125,000-lb. ram 90", resulting in expansion in response to a rise of 300 degrees above room temperature of .039", .0975" and .1755, respectively. To meet this problem, it has heretofore been the practice to provide adjustable ram guides which were adjusted continually during the rise in operating temperature. If such adjustment were not made to compensate for ram expansion, the ram and guides would lock and badly scar the guiding surfaces. As outlined above, the method heretofore employed required continual adjustment to just the right degree if good matched forgings were to be obtained. One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide ramguiding means which will automatically take care of ram expansion and provide accurate bearing surfaces for the ram at all operating temperatures without the necessity of operator actuation of ram guide adjusting means.

In forging machines heretofore employed it has been the practice to mount the ram-guiding means in the stands which were located on the center lines front-to-back and right-to-left. One of the results of this construction was that in order to remove the rams, it was necessary to remove the steam cylinder and tie plate. It is, therefore, another object of this invention to provide a ram guide arrangement which will permit the rams to be removed without disassembling the steam cylinder and tie plate.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent in the following detailed description thereof.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a forging machine embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the Fig. 1 machine.

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and disclosing details of the guidingmeans.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that we have illustrated the invention as applied to a forging machine of the counter-blow hammer type, but it will be readily apparent from the following description that the principles of this invention are applicable to any type of forging machine. As shown, the forging machine comprises a bed plate 10, a stand comprising a plurality of stand members 11 and 12 fixed to the bed plate and supporting at their upper ends a tie plate 15 and a steam cylinder 16 controlled by a throttle valve 17. The stand members at opposite sides are joined by tie-bars 18. Since the invention is illustrated in connection with a counterblow type of forging machine, there are provided an upper ram 20 and a lower ram21, both movable in opposite directions within the ram guides (to be described hereinafter). The movement of the ram 20 is controlled in the conventional manner by the steam in cylinder 16 controlled by throttle valve 17. The movement of ram 21 in a direction opposite to ram 20 is effected in the manner well-known in the counter-blow type of forging machine, i. e., plungers 25 carried by ram 20 operate in cylinders 26 to force liquid into and permit escape of liquid from cylinder 27 whose cooperating piston 28 supports the lower ram 21. Therefore, as ram 20 is lowered and raised, ram 21 is raised and lowered, respectively. The foregoing elements are well-known in the art.

For guiding the rams, the arrangement disclosed in Fig. 3 is provided. While this figure is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, and therefore discloses the guiding means for the lower ram 21, it will be understood that similar guiding means is provided for the upper ram 20. The essence of the guiding means here provided consists in forming on the ram a plurality of bearing surfaces 30 which are radial with respect to the ram axis 0 (the intersection of the central left-to-right axis A-A and frontto-back axis BB). Each of these surfaces 30, here shown as four, symmetrically arranged with respect to axis AA and BB, slide upon cooperating bearing surfaces 31 of guide members 32 adjustably mounted on stand members 11 and 12. The surfaces 31 are on the same radii with respect to axis 0 as surfaces 30. Since the resultant of heat expansion and contraction forces in any part of the ram will be radially disposed, any expansion or contraction of the ram will merely result in relative sliding movement between each set of cooperating bearing surfaces 30, 31. Thus, without the necessity of an operator actuating adjusting means for the ram guide, variations in expansion and contraction are automatically taken up so that accurate guidance of the ram is continuously maintained.

As the bearing surfaces 30, 31 wear, provision is made for taking-up such wear while leaving said surfaces in their relatively slidable relation radially disposed with respect to axis 0. For this purpose, the surface 33 of each guide member, which engages the stand members 11, 12, is not parallel to the respective bearing surface 31 but converges toward axis 0 to a predetermined degree (which may be on the order of 8 or 9) so that, as wear occurs, the guide member may be moved inwardly to take-up the wear. For moving the guide members 32, wedges 40 may be provided on the stand at the rear of the guide members 32.

Reference to Fig. 3 discloses that the stand members 11 and 12 terminate at their inner ends on a line just outside the right and left bounding surfaces of the ram. Only the guiding members 32 project into the area within these bounding surfaces. It will, therefore, be apparent that if the guide members 32 can be slid outwardly radially from axis 0 until these members are outside the right and left bounding surfaces of the ram, the rams could be removed from the frame-work of the forging machine by merely withdrawing them front to back. It would then be unnecessary to dismantle the steam cylinder 16 and tie plate 15 to permit withdrawal of the ram, as was heretofore the case. Such outward radial movement of guide members 32 is made possible by withdrawing the wedges 40, thus permitting the guide members 32 to be slid back until they clear the right and left bounding surfaces of the ram.

Having described our invention, what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A forging machine comprising a ram, a supporting stand for said ram, flat guiding surfaces on said stand, and flat guiding surfaces on said ram, the plane of said flat surfaces extending radially of the operating axis of the ram and along a line constituting the resultant of the expansion forces of said ram, said flat guiding surfaces constituting the sole guiding support for said ram.

2. A forging machine comprising a ram, a supporting stand for said ram, a plurality of guiding members on said stand, a flat guiding surface on each of said members, and flat guiding surfaces on said ram, the plane of each of said flat surfaces extending radially of the operating axis of the ram and along a line constituting the resultant of the expansion forces in the respective portion of said ram, said fiat guiding surfaces constituting the sole guiding support for said ram.

3. A forging machine as specified in claim 2, in which each of said guiding members has a face engaging said stand and forming with the flat guiding surface of the respective member an angle converging toward the operating axis of the ram.

4. A forging machine as specified in claim 3, including a plurality of Wedges mounted on said stand for adjusting the positions of said guiding members relative to the operating axis of the ram.

5. A forging machine as specified in claim 2, including pairs of guiding members on said stand, and pairs of fiat guiding surfaces on said ram, each pair of flat surfaces on the ram embracing one of said pairs of guiding members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Smith Jan. 17,

Terhune Jan. 9,

Huber Dec. 22,

FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Nov. 6, 

